A trio of 49ers rank in the top 25 of the NFL’s performance-based payouts from ‘22

Jake Brendel, Tashaun Gipson, Sr., and Talanoa Hufanga earned performance-based pay bonuses for their performances last season:

Under the Performance-based Pay program, a fund is created and used as a supplemental form of player compensation based on a comparison of playing time to salary.

That final sentence is why you don’t see Brock Purdy on this list. The majority of players listed played starter snaps all season. Purdy did not surpass 400 snaps during the regular season, which may explain why he was omitted.

Players become eligible to receive a bonus distribution in any regular season in which they play at least one official down. In general, players with higher playtime percentages and lower salaries benefit most from the pool.

Each player on the same team competes for his share of his club’s Performance-Based Pay pool. The hypothetical example in the table below illustrates how the Player Index works, using a simplified four-player team and a club bonus pool of $1,000,000. Each player receives his share of the pool depending on how his Index compares to those of his teammates.

Gipson earned $708,106 as a UDFA, Brendel earned $643,691 as a UDFA, and Hufanga earned $703,926 as a fifth-round pick. All three players were excellent in 2021.